Alternates
by pharo
Summary: Despite his indiscretions, she will still want to believe him.


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Alternates

Author: Pharo

Disclaimer: 'Alias' belongs to ABC, Bad Robot, and JJ Abrams.

Summary: Despite his indiscretions, she will still want to believe him.

Spoilers: "The Telling."

Notes: CM Challenge – no dialogue.

Feedback: pharo@newyork.com

He will call her early one morning from the office and apologize for not making it home last night. There will be hundreds of thoughts in her head involving safehouses and abandoned warehouses and secret rooms where he would rather be, but she will not voice any of these musings. He will ask to meet for breakfast to make up for his absence and she will gladly accept because she will want to look him over for any signs that she is right about his whereabouts.

She will recognize on the way there that the diner is well beyond any of the local breakfast shops and realize then that it's over. It will hurt her to know that he thinks she will embarrass him after he relays his well-rehearsed speech and walks away. She has never made a scene before and knows that it won't be any different now.

Besides, there will be no way to delay the inevitable. 

Nevertheless, she will fight the urge to call him back and politely decline during the drive past city limits. A number of excuses will swim in her head (doctor's appointment, presentation at work), but she'll get off the highway, pull into the parking lot, and pack the evasive tactics away, unused and waiting for another day. 

She will drop her car keys into the purse that she bought to match the jade necklace he got for her at a garage sale eight months ago. She will clutch it to her chest now to make sure this is actually happening and not another scene spun by her insecure mind. Despite his indiscretions, she will still want to believe him at that moment.

She will take several deep breaths to maintain a calm semblance before slowly walking across the parking lot. She will be greeted by the sizzling sound of eggs hitting the grill and the scraping noise of pancakes being flipped over. She will seek him out with her eyes and finally spot the familiar blue shirt she bought for him last Christmas. 

Looking past him, she will recognize his companion from the various dossiers she spent hours pouring over all those years ago. They will be laughing, probably about one of her quirks or something that happened while they were still together. Sydney Bristow's fingers will brush his arm and the smiles will quickly fade because they will both remember that he is now wearing a ring on his finger. 

This will not comfort Lauren as she watches them fall into their old routine. There will be a moment as she stands there when she will want to cry or scream or introduce herself to Sydney Bristow or run out of the diner because she will not want this to be happening to herself. The force of a waitress knocking into her will propel her toward the table. Before she can turn around, her husband will see her and wave her over. She will dread the short distance to the table, as if the longer it took for her to get there, the better the end result would be. 

He will introduce them to each other, as if she doesn't know who exactly Sydney Bristow is. There will be a handshake and they will start talking. She will exchange pleasantries. In between the first cup of coffee and the third slice of toast, her husband and Sydney Bristow will remember the restaurant in Rome. Ten minutes and two waffles later, they will remember that Lauren is at the table with them and apologize for getting wrapped up in the past. She will smile and shrug it off, patting her husband's leg. She will excuse herself a moment later, taking the jade-green purse with her to the bathroom. 

When she looks at herself in the dirty mirror, she will recognize that Sydney Bristow looks nothing like her. She will wonder if maybe that is the reason that he surrounded himself with her, to help forget his long lost love. This will be the breaking point.

She will call Eric and ask him to call her back in three minutes. He will sound utterly confused because he is not used to waking up at 8:00 for such reasons. She will insist that it is important and when he refuses to play her stupid game, she will tell him that pretending that Michael doesn't love Sydney Bristow is killing her.

She will dab her eyes with Kleenex before leaving the bathroom.

There will be a call a moment after she reaches the table. She will whisper her thanks to Eric before apologizing to Sydney Bristow and Michael for cutting the breakfast short. 

Michael will tell her that he'll be a little late getting home because he wants to get Syd situated at the safehouse. She will play it off as something that she would do herself if she had the time and quickly kiss his cheek. She will leave the diner as quickly as possible.

In her car, she will replace the contents of her purse with the necklace that she had once cherished. She will make a quick stop at headquarters and leave the purse on Sydney Bristow's desk.


End file.
